PC Game Reviews: X-Men Origins: Wolverine

The X-Men Origins: Wolverine PC game takes a leap ahead of most Marvel-centric games in terms of violent action and gory stuff. Fans of the clawed assassin will certainly find this game loaded with grisly cinematics and raw action that was never seen in any X-men video game.

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The X-men Origins: Wolverine PC game is a plain action game that gels perfectly with the motion pictire's main storyline. About 90 percent of the game is loosely based on the movie of the same name, with snippets and flashbacks about his origins, his recruitment in the Weapon X program and his confrontations with various villains from the X-men Universe. The game is pretty straightforward beat-’em-up style with some easy environmental puzzles and very gruesome fight scenes.

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Gameplay

The X-men Origins: Wolverine game displays the bloodiest combat ever seen in any video game based on Marvel comics and movies. This Uncaged edition exclusively released for the PC will take you to the dense Jungles of Africa, New Orleans, Project Wideawake and the Alkali Lake, home to Strykers abandoned Weapon X military compound.

Wolverine is a third-person game that brings many dangerous enemies and several guest villains from the Marvel universe. The deadly claws of Wolverine are the best weapon of choice to defeat… I mean tear them apart. You will also have a chance to use environmental objects that range from tree stumps and chopper blades to cement mixers.

The X-men Origins: Wolverine PC game has a four-way attack system. You can leap and attack enemies. The attack comprises of heavy and light attacks. To enjoy the best attack moves, it is recommended to use a gamepad instead of a keyboard as there some great combo moves that can only be invoked by a joystick.

There are a variety of enemies ranging from robots to humans and even mutants. Killing them is less challenging than most Marvel games. Wolverine is near-invincible and can survive explosions, bullets, swords and lasers, and Wolverine’s health bar regains within seconds which makes it even easier to fight enemy mutants. However, there are some forbidden areas such as deep waters or high falls that can mean instant death if our clawed hero falls into them.

The game is very easy and can be easily completed within 8 hours. There’s no replay value except a difficulty unlock mode and unlocking hidden alternate costumes. You can unlock them while playing through different levels.

(screenshot courtesy: uncaged.com)

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Graphics

The X-Men Origins: Wolverine PC game show bodily injuries in a gruesome style like no other game. When the character models of Wolverine and other enemy NPCs get slashed or bombed, portions of their flesh fly around and cover the screen with blood. You will see Hugh Jackman’s model receiving the same treatment, but the wounds heal away very quickly, a neat but unrealistic effect which fits only because he is a fictional comic book mutant.

Using the new Unreal graphics engine, Wolverine characters are well-modeled and show neat animations. However, gamers will find the environment featureless and plain. The real-time wounds shown on character models are the biggest features of the X-Men Origins: Wolverine game.

(screenshot courtesy: uncaged.com)

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Sound

The surround sound in X-Men: Wolverine video game is very impressive, though the ambient sounds lack consistency. The sounds of slashes from Wolverine’s claws, the explosions and gunshots are very realistic and the voice acting is perfectly done, thanks to Hugh Jackman generously lending his voice for his Wolverine character. The rest of the voiceover cast including Lieb Schreiber for Sabretooth also did a very good job.

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Overall

Just like any Marvel comics based game the X-Men Origins: Wolverine PC game is a simple button-masher with linear and boss-type missions. The game lacks replayability and puzzle elements really don’t fit well into the game. However, the official X-men Origins Wolverine site has recently added an extra level where numerous enemies keep on spawning in a combat theater-type mode. With luck this mod will soon be available for the PC. The game can be a nice addition for X-men and Marvel aficionados and for those who love action games.